Sri Lanka is grappling with the aftermath of Cyclone Fengal. It unleashed heavy rainfall, strong winds, and severe thunderstorms across the country.  

Since late November, the unrelenting weather has caused catastrophic flooding, landslides, and widespread destruction, leaving many vulnerable communities in crisis. 

The Cyclone’s Destruction  

Heavy rainfall, strong winds, thunderstorms, and lightning continue to impact most of Sri Lanka, causing floods, landslides, and severe weather-related incidents. This has resulted in casualties and widespread damage.  

The most affected provinces include Northern, Uva, North-Western, Western, North Central, Central, Sabaragamuwa, Eastern, and Southern regions. 

Continuous rainfall in Sri Lanka began on 23 November 2024, with the situation worsening significantly on 28 November 2024. This was due to a slow-moving deep depression formed in the Bay of Bengal (Cyclone Fengal). This severely affected the region and triggered widespread flooding. 

The Disaster Management Centre (DMC), as of 3^rd December 2024, reported mass destruction in Sri Lanka. There are 18 fatalities, 19 injured individuals, and nearly 5,100 people still displaced across 64 evacuation centres. 

Approximately 468,750 people have been affected across the impacted provinces. Additionally, the DMC reports 107 houses fully destroyed and more than 2,600 houses partially damaged. 

Islamic Relief’s Response to the Emergency in Sri Lanka

The IPD Emergency Panel convened to discuss an Emergency Alert issued by Islamic Relief Sri Lanka in response to the heavy rains and flooding caused by Cyclone Fengal.

The Emergency panel approved a response, allowing Islamic Relief to initiate immediate response activities and eventually scale up to cover unmet needs. 

Islamic Relief is proposing an immediate intervention by providing unconditional cash assistance to affected households in the Eastern Province (Trincomalee, Batticaloa, Ampara districts), Northwestern Province (Puttalam District), and North Central Province (Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa districts).  

The immediate response will prioritise reaching the existing right holders who have been severely impacted. This includes orphaned children supported under the Orphan Support Program and other rightsholders from ongoing Islamic Relief funded projects.